Nizamabad (Telangana) [India], April 21 (ANI): Senior Congress leader and Advisor to the Telangana Government for SC, ST, OBC, and Minorities, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, on Sunday strongly criticised the BJP-led government over the passage of the Waqf Amendment Act, stating that Telangana was the first state to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill.

'Telangana was the first to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill. This bill should not exist,' Shabbir Ali said while speaking to ANI.

He said the Congress party has consistently opposed the bill since the beginning and accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of promoting communal politics.

'The Congress party have been opposing this bill from the start. Since the BJP has come to power, the BJP has been only doing Hindu-Muslim in the nation,' he alleged.

Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's approach, Shabbir Ali said, 'I want to ask why only Muslim women's problem is visible to PM Modi, why not the Hindu women's problem... This will ruin the nation. It should be stopped.'

Meanwhile, the violence began on April 11 in the Muslim-majority Murshidabad district during a protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The protest turned violent, leading to the killing of two people, injuries to several others, and property damage, forcing thousands to leave their homes for safer places.

The protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Act spread across other districts, including Malda, South 24 Parganas, and Hooghly, and involved incidents of arson, stone-pelting, and road blockades.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, passed by Parliament earlier this month after marathon debates in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, seeks to streamline the management of Waqf properties, with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare. The bill was later given assent by President Droupadi Murmu.

Parties of the INDIA bloc strongly opposed the bill, terming it unconstitutional. The Parliament also passed the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025.

The Waqf Act provides that no land belonging to members of Scheduled Tribes, under the provisions of the fifth schedule or sixth schedule to the Constitution, can be declared as Waqf.(ANI)